In automatic train protection equipment for railway and mass and/or rapid transit operations, it is mandatory to perform a daily departure test on each locomotive or lead vehicle before releasing a train into regular revenue service. Normally, the departure test was conducted on a special section of track which was equipped with a loop of wire. The wire loop was connected to associated circuitry which was initiated from the wayside to inductively couple feigned cab signals into pickup coils mounted forward of the front axle of the lead vehicle or locomotive. An alternative method that was previously employed to perform the required departure test utilized a pair of external coils which were meticulously positioned beneath the pickup coils of the vehicle. In practice, the two inductive coils were manually disposed a predetermined distance from car carried pickup coils so that the simulated cab signals produced by the associated external electronic equipment could be sufficiently magnetically coupled to the pickup coils. It will be appreciated that both of the previous departure testing methods not only were time-consuming but also were expensive from the standpoint of required equipment and excessive man-hours. Further, the train or lead vehicle under test was unduly delayed because of the excessive amount of time necessary for setting up and conducting the daily departure test. In addition, previous departure testing apparatus did not have the capability of handling overspeed functions which enhance the quality of testing.